Shadow Vanguard is a completely original game in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six universe, built from the ground up for play on the iPhone and iPod Touch. A whole new three-man Rainbow team faces down the latest international terrorist threat, each member focused on a particular specialty: Stealth, Recon, and Demolition. Players can strategically tackle a well-organized terrorist group across 11 story mode missions either by themselves or with up to two friends via online or local multiplayer.

Shadow Vanguard also feature competitive online multiplayer, allowing players to pit their squad against the top players around the world, with five different maps supporting up to ten players.